GPA per capita

Two students are discussing the pros and cons of different measures of economic development. "GPA per capital" declares the first, "is the only true measure of how developed a country's economy is". The second student counters: "I disagree. The only true measure of a country's ecnomic development is its people's quality of life, regardless of its GDP". Why is each of these students incorrect?

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GDP per capita is an important measure of country's development. As per investopedia, "GDP represents the total dollar value of all goods and services produced over a specific time period." As per investorwords.com, GDP is the "total market value of all final produced in a country in a given year, equal to total consumer, investment and government spending, plus the value of exports, minus the value of imports. " GDP per capital is national income divided by population. GDP per capital represents the national income per person and it can be used to know about the performance of the economy. But it ignores the qualitative aspects of the economy. GDP doesn't measure the well being of the economy.

Person's quality of life is also an important parameter to assess the economic development. Some important parameters are life expectancy, Education or literacy levels, ...